Evaluating the Usability of Online Social Networks Used by Older People

The use of online social networks has expanded massively, they represent the way of communication of different types of users. However, the usability considerations in social networks when older people use them, have not been taken into account appropriately. Therefore, there are solutions focused on creating specific social networks for this target, but they do not consider special usability needs oriented to older people. This paper proposes a usability model for supporting the creation and evaluation of social networks focused on older people. This model breaks down the usability sub-characteristics from the ISO/IEC 25010 standard into other sub-characteristics and attributes. Metrics are eventually associated with these attributes in order to quantify and detect usability problems. The feasibility of this approach is illustrated through the evaluation of two social networks by using the proposed usability model taking into account the older people needs.